That's very true, but it means you will have to buy the exact car or equivalent model for your next car where as the return to invoice will give you a lump of cash so you can buy what ever car you fancy. Each to their own I guess.

That's very true, but it means you will have to buy the exact car or equivalent model for your next car where as the return to invoice will give you a lump of cash so you can buy what ever car you fancy. Each to their own I guess.

Hi there. I have been speaking with Easygap. When they pay out for a full "new for old, like for like" replacement they give the money to you, not the dealer, so you can choose what to buy with it. It may be £10-20 more than Ala (who will price match at least) but the extra bit of flexibility is worth it i would say.

Hi there. I have been speaking with Easygap. When they pay out for a full "new for old, like for like" replacement they give the money to you, not the dealer, so you can choose what to buy with it. It may be £10-20 more than Ala (who will price match at least) but the extra bit of flexibility is worth it i would say.

I spoke to someone from ala and they told me the money goes towards the dealer with the vehicle replacement policy. So I'm not sure...

That contradicts what I was informed. They told me they don't get involved in any kind of deal. It's all done on submitted costs. IF you fail to get a full payout from your insurance company, they don't make up the full difference.

For example if you bought a £30k car new, after a year lets say book value was £20k and you wrote it off. If you accepted £18k pay out from your main insurance company, ala WON'T pay you out £12k to get you back to £30k, they only give you the £10k difference you should have got.

That contradicts what I was informed. They told me they don't get involved in any kind of deal. It's all done on submitted costs. IF you fail to get a full payout from your insurance company, they don't make up the full difference.

For example if you bought a £30k car new, after a year lets say book value was £20k and you wrote it off. If you accepted £18k pay out from your main insurance company, ala WON'T pay you out £12k to get you back to £30k, they only give you the £10k difference you should have got.

Not sure if we are getting into crossed purposes.

What I meant is that in the event that the GAP insurance is paying out, Ala (for example) will pay out the money directly to the dealer where you bought the original car. You therefore replace your car with another (same spec and age) from the same dealer. Other companies (Easygap, but maybe others... I don't know) will send the money to you, the customer, not the dealer. You may then choose to buy a completely different car from a completely different dealer with that money.

E.g. I buy a £30k car of specification X. Two years later, it gets written off and my normal insurance pays me £15k. Lets assume I can still get the same car for £30k, so Ala will send the £15k 'GAP' to my original dealer and I am provided with a replacement, same spec car. Easygap, in contrast, send the £15k 'GAP' to me directly. I can take that money anywhere I want to and do way I want with it.

I'm no expert, and this is the first time i have decided to take GAP insurance, but this was a specific difference that I was made aware of and to my mind its worth knowing.

P.S. I collect my new 330d M Sport (AW and Coral) on Wednesday. Yay! My future posts will be on more interesting topics..... like the car!

What I meant is that in the event that the GAP insurance is paying out, Ala (for example) will pay out the money directly to the dealer where you bought the original car. You therefore replace your car with another (same spec and age) from the same dealer. Other companies (Easygap, but maybe others... I don't know) will send the money to you, the customer, not the dealer. You may then choose to buy a completely different car from a completely different dealer with that money.

E.g. I buy a £30k car of specification X. Two years later, it gets written off and my normal insurance pays me £15k. Lets assume I can still get the same car for £30k, so Ala will send the £15k 'GAP' to my original dealer and I am provided with a replacement, same spec car. Easygap, in contrast, send the £15k 'GAP' to me directly. I can take that money anywhere I want to and do way I want with it.

I'm no expert, and this is the first time i have decided to take GAP insurance, but this was a specific difference that I was made aware of and to my mind its worth knowing.

P.S. I collect my new 330d M Sport (AW and Coral) on Wednesday. Yay! My future posts will be on more interesting topics..... like the car!

It was essential for me as I put down a small deposit so I'd likely be in negative equity if I did have a total loss claim. The difference between that and getting a brand new replacement car is well worth the small premium.

I went to ala, used the GAP13 promo code and got 25k worth of cover over 4 years for £225. That i'm very happy with, especially considering there seems to be a lack of small print and no end of recommendations (would cost north of £800 for dealer cover of similar level).

I went to ala, used the GAP13 promo code and got 25k worth of cover over 4 years for £225. That i'm very happy with, especially considering there seems to be a lack of small print and no end of recommendations (would cost north of £800 for dealer cover of similar level).

I've just picked my car up from the dealer and they offered me BMW GAP insurance with unlimited value cover for 3 years for £800. I said I could get £15,000 of cover from ala for under £200. He went away to see what he could do and on his return said the best price was £295 , interest free over 10 months. Still £100 more but unlimited cover.

Whatever you do, dont buy gap insurance just on price. I bought my cover on-line only after making sure I didnt make the same mistake as my mate. He bought the lowest priced policy he could find and a year later did have to make a claim for his Audi which was shunted from behind while waiting at a roundabout.

When he made his gap claim - the payment had money deducted for things that were not covered by the policy, stuff like road tax, superguard, extended warranty, and some dealer accessories that were fitted. Overall, he was paid £2,500 less than he was expecting. And guess what? when the claim was paid the gap cover ended so he had to buy gap again.

When I covered my 320d M a few months ago, I killed the dealers try at £699 for a policy, drove home and did some nerdy detailed research on-line. Its a tedious time consuming and boring thing to do but when you get into the fine print, everyones policy is hugely different even though they all call it by the same name.

I did find the best out there and to be honest did pay about £12 more than some of the cheaper basic policies I found. I figured if I couldnt afford £12 over a three year policy for something that was a quarter of the cost of my cheeky dealer - I should be driving a BMW! My policy doesn't have any of the claim deducting exclusions that my mate suffered and there's a promise of a new policy free of charge if I do make a claim!

Before you buy check the detail as it can bite you in the bum - but there there are good ones out there but not at the firms you mentioned. I used www.car2cover.co.uk and checked these guys out as well before I parted with my money. I should have taken their Tyre Insurance too as Ive just kerbed NSF tyre and thats gonna be approaching £275. Not so smart and nerdy after all...

Anyone know of someone selling a Z1? Would love a little something for the weekend.

Thank you for your opinions. Many heads make light work of the mine field that is insurance policies...?
Before I pick up my new car I need to have THE chat with the dealer about other insurances. He already knows me well enough to know I'm no mug and having driven such a hard bargain for the sale he know how hard I'm willing to work. He has said in a round about way to drive down what they offer to the point that there is barely any margin in it for them - This is what I will try armed with quotes from the companies mentioned above.
I'm going to do the same for the tires too.

Whatever you do, dont buy gap insurance just on price. I bought my cover on-line only after making sure I didnt make the same mistake as my mate. He bought the lowest priced policy he could find and a year later did have to make a claim for his Audi which was shunted from behind while waiting at a roundabout.

When he made his gap claim - the payment had money deducted for things that were not covered by the policy, stuff like road tax, superguard, extended warranty, and some dealer accessories that were fitted. Overall, he was paid £2,500 less than he was expecting. And guess what? when the claim was paid the gap cover ended so he had to buy gap again.

When I covered my 320d M a few months ago, I killed the dealers try at £699 for a policy, drove home and did some nerdy detailed research on-line. Its a tedious time consuming and boring thing to do but when you get into the fine print, everyones policy is hugely different even though they all call it by the same name.

I did find the best out there and to be honest did pay about £12 more than some of the cheaper basic policies I found. I figured if I couldnt afford £12 over a three year policy for something that was a quarter of the cost of my cheeky dealer - I should be driving a BMW! My policy doesn't have any of the claim deducting exclusions that my mate suffered and there's a promise of a new policy free of charge if I do make a claim!

Before you buy check the detail as it can bite you in the bum - but there there are good ones out there but not at the firms you mentioned. I used www.car2cover.co.uk and checked these guys out as well before I parted with my money. I should have taken their Tyre Insurance too as Ive just kerbed NSF tyre and thats gonna be approaching £275. Not so smart and nerdy after all...

Anyone know of someone selling a Z1? Would love a little something for the weekend.

I went for the Sytner 3 year unlimited value , back to invoice , GAP policy in the end. I utilised their 10 months interest free finance @ £29.50pm too.

For example if you bought a £30k car new, after a year lets say book value was £20k and you wrote it off. If you accepted £18k pay out from your main insurance company, ala WON'T pay you out £12k to get you back to £30k, they only give you the £10k difference you should have got.

This is interesting - so who actually does the valuation on the car's worth and do they all agree on it? So if insurance company does valuation x, but GAP people reckon it's y, and the finance company reckon it was z - are we essentially stuck between 3 very hard places trying to squeeze through?

You'd hope, given everything is covered - driving insurance, gap insurance, finance - they'd just talk to eachother and figure it all out.

This is interesting - so who actually does the valuation on the car's worth and do they all agree on it? So if insurance company does valuation x, but GAP people reckon it's y, and the finance company reckon it was z - are we essentially stuck between 3 very hard places trying to squeeze through?

You'd hope, given everything is covered - driving insurance, gap insurance, finance - they'd just talk to eachother and figure it all out.

At a guess, you would call the GAP company and ask for a valuation, then tell your insurance co, that is the official valuation and that is what they need to pay. Does make you wonder where you stand.

The Gap insurance states they will pay the difference between your insurance payout and the replacement cost (or back to invoice depending on policy). It's your insurance company that will determine the valuation.

I'm picking my 320d sport up from Styner tomorrow, and GAP is in the price. So are u saying their GAP cover is a good one?

To be honest I don't know as I have never taken out a GAP policy before now. The sign of a good policy is whether they pay out without any quibbles - hopefully I will never need to find out.

I just felt comforted by the Sytner name and reputation and longevity rather than buying a GAP policy over the internet from a firm I had never heard of before. I am sure the others are good too I hasten to add.

The Sytner name , together with an unlimited claim amount and a premium figure only about £75 higher than the internet providers made me choose Sytner. Amazing how they could reduce the initial quote of £800 to £295 within 2 minutes when I said how much I had been quoted by internet companies. You get 10 months interest free too - every little helps.